Head covering

ABSTRACT

A head covering is disclosed for covering and, preferably, obscuring the head such as with camouflage. The head covering may include a top portion such as a baseball-style cap, a first member or shroud that substantially covers the rest of the head other than one or more openings for a mouth and a nose, and preferably other than providing an opening for eyes such as an opening between the top portion and the first member. A second veil-type shroud is provided to cover the openings for the mouth and nose, is sized to be moved away from the mouth and nose while still obscuring the same, and is secured as to allow moisture from the face to be escape therefrom.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to head apparel and, in particular, to headapparel for sportspersons in outdoors to conceal the person's face.

BACKGROUND

There are a number of pursuits undertaken in which a person seeks toattain close proximity with wild animals or other people without beingnoticed. The most obvious of these pursuits is game hunting where theperson seeks to gain close proximity in order to improve the accuracy ofa gunshot or a bow shot or the like. Other pursuits may include a birdwatcher, a nature observer, or a field zoologist, for instance, as wellas military activities in which a soldier may be attempting to obscuretheir presence from others.

In any event, gaining close proximity to wild animals often involves theuse of camouflage clothing to obscure the person and, hence, theirpresence in a location. These locations may differ from the varioustypes of woods, snow-capped mountains, to a marsh, grassy field, huntingblind, or any other outdoors location. For each location, the varioustypes of camouflage patterns worm are selected for blending in with thelocation or natural surroundings. It is generally considered best toobscure as much of the person, along with his or her gear, as possible,as wild game will usually see and recognize the presence of anythingthat is not natural to their environment. If aware of the presence ofthe person or threat, most animals will avoid or flee the location.

While solutions for maximum coverage have, for the most part, beenaddressed, the primary area of the body that continues to remain achallenge is facial camouflage. A common solution is facial paints.Though these are time-consuming and laborious to apply correctly toblend in with the location, they are considered messy, and are notre-usable. Facial paint also does not obscure movement by the face oritems around the face, such as a calling devices, for example a duckcall being blown by a person's lips.

Currently, many styles and constructions of head or face wear areavailable for obscuring the head, the face, or both of a person, as wellas providing some degree of heat retention. A common hat includes a capportion worn over the hair and side flaps that may be pulled down andsecured around the ears and part of the face. However, the centralportion of the face is still visible, and this is the portion that isnecessary to provide a direct view of the quarry or prey.

Various other type of shroud styles have been created. For instance, afirst shroud type is sock-shaped, with a generally horizontal openingpositionable around the eyes. Two other shroud types are generally knownas “ninja” style and Balaclava style shrouds which have a head coveringportion along with a second layer of material that may be pulled down toexpose the face and mouth. None of these types of shrouds has a bill orvisor, and they fail to provide any shielding of the eyes from overheadsunlight (an issue when watching for airborne birds, for instance), orany obscuring of the eyes or eyewear of the wearer.

These shrouds have problems with moisture build up between the shroudand the wearer. After only a short period of time, the material quicklybecomes saturated, leading to additional problems. For instance, breathmay condense on the interior of the shroud, along with the shroud havingto be lifted or pulled down in order to expectorate or clear mucous froma nose. To deal with these issues, the wearer basically must exposetheir face by rearranging the shroud repeatedly, or simply lifting up toallow the moisture to escape and not collect (which defeats the purposeof the shroud covering the face).

Additionally, it is difficult to use these shrouds with any type ofmouth call, such as a bird or duck call. One may shift the shroud awayfrom the mouth to place the call on the lips, or may attempt to blowthrough the shroud. For the latter, a thin mesh material used for someshrouds may permit use of a call directly through, though this isawkward, and the call is exposed to the view of any nearby quarry.Again, this method is not without problems, since after only a shortperiod of time the material quickly becomes saturated with moisture.

Another solution to facial camouflage is the use of a ski mask stylecovering. This is generally a close-fitting construction that providesopenings for the eyes, mouth, and nose. While this is effective atproviding access to the mouth and nose, as well as clear eye sight, itdoes little to camouflage at least the eyes, nose, and mouth. Anadditional problem is that it prevents the use of any type of eyewear.

One attempt to address these issues would be to provide a billed orbrimmed hat with a mesh attached, much in the way of a beekeeper's hat.The full face mesh obscures clear eye sight, which is a particular issuewhere vision is crucial while aiming a weapon. Additionally, in order toeat or wipe moisture from the face, the mesh must be lifted or pulleddown which, although minor, is still considered defeating the purpose ofwearing the covering in the first place.

Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved head and/or face wearfor obscuring a face while spending time in an outdoors location.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect, a covering for a head is disclosedincluding a first member having a portion positionable over at least apart of a face of the head, the portion having an opening thereinpositionable over the nose and mouth of the head, and a second memberpositionable over the first member opening. In a form, the entire firstand second member assembly, which is fabricated of thin mesh, can betucked up under the head-covering cap and out of sight when not in use.This allows the covering to be worm as a typical baseball-style cap.

In some forms, the covering first member substantially covers the headand has a second opening positionable over eyes of the head. The firstmember may include a cap portion positionable on a crown of the head.The first member may include a bill positionable above eyes of a head,and first member provides an opening positionable around eyes of a facebelow the bill. The first member may include a wrap portion includingthe portion positionable over at least part of the face and a secondportion substantially covering sides and back of the head. The wrapportion may have a length extending downward positionable around a neckbelow the head. The wrap portion may include a bottom portion having acinch mechanism for drawing the wrap portion inward around the neck.

The covering may further include a cap portion secured to the firstmember, and positioned to cover at least the crown of the head. Thefirst member may have a top portion, and the cap portion may have abottom portion that may be secured to each other. The first member topportion and the cap portion bottom edge may be secured with a securementat the back portion of the cap, and extending to just behind the startof the brim on either edge of the cap. The second member may have a topportion securable with the front aspect of the first member top portionto drape along the front of the face. The second member may be free tomove relative to the securement, and the second member may be moved(i.e., elevated) to provide access to the opening positionable over thenasal and mouth opening of the first member. The second member may besized to allow access to the opening positionable over the nose andmouth opening of the first member, and may be sized to cover saidopening during access thereto. The covering may be substantially coveredwith a camouflage pattern.

In another aspect, a covering for a head is disclosed including a capportion for covering a crown of a head, a bill extending from the capportion, a wrap shroud secured with the cap portion and generallyextending about the head, the wrap shroud including at least a firstopening providing access to a portion of a face of the head, and a veilextending over the wrap shroud and covering the first opening.

In some forms, the cap portion and bill are substantially in the form ofa baseball cap.

The wrap shroud and veil may be formed of a camouflage mesh material.

The wrap shroud may have a top portion, and the cap portion may have abottom portion, and the wrap shroud top portion may be secured with thecap portion bottom edge over a length of the wrap shroud top portion,the length being selected so as to be behind the start of the brim oneither edge of the cap, wherein the covering provides an opening foreyes of the head.

The veil may have a top portion secured with the top portion of the wrapshroud by a securement, the securement being positioned below theopening for the eyes. The veil may be sized to allow access to theopening positionable over the nose and mouth opening of the firstmember, and sized to cover said opening during access thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Figures, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a form of a headcovering of the present invention being worn by a person;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second form of a head covering of thepresent invention being worn by a person;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view generally of the head covering of FIG. 1showing the person accessing their mouth while utilizing the headcovering;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the person wearing the head covering of FIG. 1and lifting a veil portion thereof to expose a portion of the face;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the person wearing the head covering ofFIG. 1 in conjunction with eyewear;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the headcovering of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third form of a head covering of thepresent invention being worn by a person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a covering 10 of the present invention isdepicted on a person P in a configuration typical for usage in a settingor location wherein the covering 10 is being used to protect a face F,as well as a head H. The covering 10 may be used to protect the face Fand head H from, inter alia, weather and elements such as cold air andrain, from sunlight on skin and in eyes E, and, most importantly, fromthe view of an animal or another person. For convenience, reference toan “animal” herein refers to any living being that the person P may wishto obscure or hide their presence from, including airborne animals suchas birds, land or tree-based animals, water-based animals includingfish, or other people such as for military or police activities.

The entirety of the covering 10 is preferably camouflaged. A variety ofcoverings 10 may be provided so that each has a selected camouflagepattern designed for the environment in which it used. For instance,suitable and effective camouflage patterns are well-known for spring orfall woodland settings, marshland settings, field settings, winterwoodland and winter mountaintop settings, etc., wherein the camouflageeffectively obscures the presence of the person P in the environment byallowing them to blend in with the surroundings.

As shown, the covering 10 includes first and second covering portionsreferred to herein as a veil 20 and a wrap shroud 22. The wrap shroud 22generally covers much of the sides and back of the head H, including theears, as well as a neck of the person P. The wrap shroud 22 has a lengthso that, if desired, the person P may tuck a lower portion of the wrapshroud 22 into a coat or other torso apparel, or wrap another itemaround their neck area, so that no portion of the person P is visible,other than their apparel in general including the covering 10.

In a preferred form, the covering 10 includes a cap portion 24 having abill 26 extending therefrom. Utilization of a standard baseball cap in acamouflage pattern, for instance, allows for ease of construction and isfamiliar to most people. The cap portion 24 also may provide additionalwarmth for the top or crown of the head H and additional protection fromelements. The bill 26 provides a shield from sunlight for the eyes E andthe face F, for instance. It also allows the person P to tilt their headH forward to reduce exposure of the eyes E or eyewear W (see FIG. 5) toan animal. Alternatively, the wrap shroud 22 itself may cover the crownand other portions of the head H in the manner of the cap portion 24and, in a further alternative, a bill 26 may extend directly from aportion of the wrap shroud 22.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the wrap shroud 22 has a tubular orfrusto-conical form. The wrap shroud 22 has a top hem 30 or seam whichwould be omitted were the wrap shroud 22 to cover the crown of the headH, as discussed above. The top hem 30 has a first portion generallyrepresented as portion 30 a extending as shown as 30 b which isconnected to the cap portion 24 in a secure manner and second portion 30c extending as shown as 30 d that is free from the cap portion 24 andcontains elastic to promote the hem 30 being snug below the eyes E. Thesecond portion 30 c, with its internally sewn elastic, is permitted tostretch below the bill 26 to provide an opening 32 above the top hem 30and below the bill 26 for viewing from the eyes E, as shown in FIG. 1.Additionally, the opening permits the person P to wear eyewear W, asshown in FIG. 5. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the wrap shroud 22 andthe bill 26 generally obscure a substantial portion of the face F,leaving only a small view to the eyes E of the person P. In other forms,complete facial concealment is possible by positioning the hem portion30 c above the eyes E and under the bill 26 (or inside the cap portion24, as is shown in FIG. 2, or by stretching the hem portion 30 c overthe front edge of the bill 26, as is shown in FIG. 7.

The bill 26 provides other benefits to using the covering 10. Gamehunting is often done at dusk or dawn, feeding time for wild animalsand, thus, the time they are most active. Accordingly, a person P thatis on a hunting trip needs to be in place before dawn, and/or may needto return home after dusk. This means that the person P often has a needto carry a flashlight for safe traveling in low, early-morning ornighttime lighting. Various forms of headlamp apparatus have beendesigned for attaching to the bill 26, such as those including LEDlights and battery packs, so that the person P can still see, whilehaving their hands free when climbing a tree (such as for a tree stand)or for balancing when navigating rough terrain, where vision is crucial.

The extent of the top hem portion 30 a connected to the cap portion 24is selected to provide maximum peripheral vision for the person P.Accordingly, it is preferred that the top hem portion 30 a is secured bya securement 31, such as a sewn seam, with the cap portion 24 behind theeyes E of the person P when the covering 10 is worn.

The wrap shroud 22 also includes an opening 34 formed therein. Thisopening 34 is configured on its own and within the wrap shroud 22 itselfso as to provide access through the wrap shroud 22 to mouth M and nose Nareas. It should be noted that, generally, reference to an opening (suchas opening 34) for the mouth is meant to refer to the wearer's mouthand/or nose areas; alternatively, this is also meant to encompassseparate openings for the mouth M and the nose N areas. During use, theopening 34 allows the person P to clear moisture from the face F, and toaccess the mouth M for eating or using a call C, as is shown in FIG. 3.Additionally, the opening 34 allows moisture to escape from the mouth Mor nose N. The opening 34 is shown generally as a diamond shapedopening, though any suitable shape may be employed. Preferably, theopening 34 is surrounded by a hem 36 or stitching.

The veil 20 is secured to the wrap shroud 22 to cover the front of thewrap shroud 22. More particularly, the veil 20 is large enough to coverthe opening 34 in the wrap shroud 22 as well as large enough so that,when the person P uses a call C or otherwise accesses their mouth M ornose N, this activity is still obscured by the veil 20. The veil 20 isfabricated from mesh material, or the like, attached so that breath, forinstance, is able to pass out of the wrap shroud opening 34 and out fromthe covering 10 in general, thus relieving or alleviating moisturebuild-up therein.

The veil 20 has a perimeter hem 40, a top portion of which is generallyrepresented by 40 a in FIG. 6. The top hem portion 40 a is secured by asecurement 41, such as a sewn seam, with the wrap shroud top hem 30,specifically and preferably with portion 30 a thereof, so that the veil20 is positioned below and around the eye opening 32. Other than the tophem portion 40 a, the veil 20 is generally free to move relative to thesecurement 41 so that it may be lifted or moved to provide access to themouth opening 34 while obscuring such activity, such as the veil 20being sized to obscure the person P using the call C. It is noted thathem portion 40 a may have elastic sewn internally therein, as analternative to the elastic being sewn into portion 30 c of the wrapshroud 22.

It should be noted that the covering 10 may also be used for preventinginsects from reaching the person P, which may be an issue when hunting,fishing, or simply being outdoors as represented in FIG. 7. Accordingly,the covering 10 may be used in manners other than when simply attemptingto obscure the face F. The advantages of generally covering the entirehead H and face F from insects and elements, while still providingaccess to the mouth M and allowing breath to escape, are beneficiallypresent when used in fashions other than for camouflaging the person Pfrom animals.

The wrap shroud 22 also has a bottom hem 44. In some forms, this bottomhem 44 may include a cinch mechanism 46 such as an elastic piece ordrawing string, for instance, for drawing the wrap shroud 22 towards theneck area of the person P, assisting in heat retention.

The cap portion 24 may be of insulated material or may be of traditionalbaseball cap construction, as described, and having the bill 26 attachedthereto. For instance, the cap portion 24 may include insulating and/orwater protective layers such as wool, Gortex, or nylon.

The wrap shroud 22 and veil 20 may be of a variety of materials. Forinstance, camouflage cloth in both mesh and solid forms are commerciallyavailable as dry goods. Alternatively, or in addition, insulated or heatretaining cloth may be used.

Beneficially, the covering 10 including the cap portion 24 and bill 26may be conventionally worn as a hat or baseball cap by folding orotherwise tucking the veil 20 and wrap shroud 22 inside or into the capportion 24 before being donned by the person P.

As an alternative form, FIG. 2 shows a head covering without an openingfor the eyes E. In this form, the material of the wrap shroud 22 andveil 20 is mesh selected to provide sight therethrough. Similarly, FIG.7 shows a head covering without an opening for the eyes E and having theveil 20 with its internal elastic positioned at the front of the capbill 26 so that the veil is held away from the face and eyes E. In thesealternative forms, the veil 20 may be secured with the cap portion 24 orthe bill 26, respectively, or, as discussed above, be constructed sothat the veil top hem 40 a may be stretched and positioned over the bill26 (FIG. 7), below the eyes E (FIG. 1), or above the eyes E (FIG. 2).

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

1. A covering for a head comprising: a first member having a portionpositionable over at least a part of a face of the head, the portionhaving an opening therein positionable over a mouth of the head; and asecond member positionable over the first member opening.
 2. Thecovering of claim 1 wherein the first member substantially covers thehead and has a second opening positionable over eyes of the head.
 3. Thecovering of claim 1 wherein the first member includes a cap portionpositionable on a crown of the head.
 4. The covering of claim 1 whereinthe first member includes a bill positionable above eyes of a head, andfirst member provides an opening positionable around eyes of a facebelow the bill.
 5. The covering of claim 1 wherein the first memberincludes a wrap portion including the portion positionable over at leastpart of the face and a second portion substantially covering sides andback of the head.
 6. The covering of claim 5 wherein the wrap portionhas a length extending downward and positionable around a neck below thehead.
 7. The covering of claim 6 wherein the wrap portion includes abottom portion having a cinch mechanism for drawing the wrap portioninward around the neck.
 8. The covering of claim 1 further including acap portion secured with the first member, the cap portion covering atleast a crown of the head.
 9. The covering of claim 8 wherein the firstmember has a top portion, and the cap portion has a bottom portionsecured with the first member top portion.
 10. The covering of claim 9wherein the first member top portion and the cap portion bottom portionare secured with a securement, and wherein the securement is positionedbehind eyes of the head.
 11. The covering of claim 1 wherein the secondmember has a top portion, and the first member has a top portion, andthe respective top portions are secured by a securement.
 12. Thecovering of claim 1 wherein the second member is free to move relativeto the securement, and the second member is movable to provide access tothe opening positionable over the mouth of the first member.
 13. Thecovering of claim 11 wherein the second member is sized to allow accessto the opening positionable over the mouth of the first member, andsized to cover said opening during access thereto.
 14. The covering ofclaim 1 wherein the covering is substantially covered with a camouflagepattern.
 15. A covering for a head comprising: a cap portion forcovering a crown of a head; a bill extending from the cap portion; awrap shroud secured with the cap portion and generally extending aboutthe head, the wrap shroud including at least a first opening providingaccess to a portion of a face of the head; and a veil extending over thewrap shroud and covering the first opening.
 16. The covering of claim 15wherein the cap portion and bill are substantially in the form of abaseball cap.
 17. The covering of claim 15 wherein the wrap shroud andveil are formed of a camouflage mesh material.
 18. The covering of claim15 wherein the wrap shroud has a top portion, and the cap portion has abottom portion, and the wrap shroud top portion is secured with the capportion bottom portion over a length of the wrap shroud top portion, thelength being selected so as to be behind eyes of the head, and whereinthe covering provides an opening for eyes of the head.
 19. The coveringof claim 18 wherein the veil has a top portion secured with the topportion of the wrap shroud by a securement, the securement beingpositioned below the opening for the eyes.
 20. The covering of claim 19wherein the veil is sized to allow access to the opening positionableover the mouth of the first member, and sized to cover said openingduring access thereto.